Open Checkbook website to launch

Under a government transparency initiative included in the 2011 state budget, the Commonwealth will be launching a new website by the end of the year providing detailed information about state expenditures, including state employees’ salaries and retirees’ pensions.
 
The initiative, called Open Checkbook, will provide information on all state budget expenditures, including payroll and pension information, for fiscal years, 2010, 2011 and 2012. While salary information is just for state employees, pension information will be available for all who receive retirement income under a pension system funded by the state, including retired teachers and administrators receiving pensions through the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System.
 
A great deal of public employee salary and pension information has been available for several years on websites operated by the Boston Herald and the Pioneer Institute. These organizations obtained the information through public records requests.
 
The Commonwealth has posted answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Open Checkbook initiative. The FAQ explains that state employee annual salaries and retiree annual pensions will be available by name and will include information about where the person is or was employed. It will not include the individual’s address, bank account information or Social Security number.
 
For more information on this and other state transparency initiatives, see mass.gov/transparency. Active employees who have unanswered questions should contact their human resource offices. PreK-12 retirees who have unanswered questions may contact the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System.